Title 51, Labor and Employment; Unlawful Discrimination

(1) A political subdivision required to make payments into the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund under ORS 657.505 may request the Director of the Employment Department to pay on behalf of the political subdivision such amounts as the political subdivision is required to pay i…

(1) If an employer defaults with respect to any payment required to be made by the employer to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, the taxes at any time due, together with interest thereon and penalties, shall be collected by the Director of the Employment Department in a c…

(1) In the case of default by an employer, as provided in ORS 657.515, a person described in subsection (2) of this section who, as an officer, member, partner or employee, is under a duty to perform the actions required by employers under this chapter shall be personally liable …

(1) When in the judgment of the Director of the Employment Department the best interests of the Employment Department are served, the director may: (a) Waive, reduce or compromise any tax balance of $10 or less; (b) Retain any tax overpayment of $10 or less; or (c) Waive, reduce …

All contributions, interest charges, penalties or amounts due the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund from any employer under this chapter and all judgments recovered by the Director of the Employment Department against any employer under this chapter shall be given the same pri…

A lien is created in favor of the Director of the Employment Department upon all real property within this state and any structure or improvement thereon and upon any mine, lode, deposit, mining claim, road, tramway, trail, flume, ditch, pipeline, building or other structure or e…

The Director of the Employment Department also shall have a lien upon all real or personal property of the employer used in connection with the employment on which contributions are due, in a sum equal to the amount at any time due from any employer subject to this chapter on acc…

(1) The liens created by ORS 657.525 and 657.530 shall be prior to all other liens and encumbrances, except labor liens and taxes, and they shall have equal priority with other tax liens. (2) In order to assert such liens, the Director of the Employment Department shall, within 6…

(1) If an employer liable for the payment of contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund is in default, as provided in ORS 657.515 (3), the amount of contributions, interest and penalties due shall be a lien in favor of the Director of the Employment Department upon…

(1) A copy of any statement of lien filed as provided in ORS 657.535 or any warrant attaching the lien of ORS 657.540 may also be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. Filing in the office of the Secretary of State shall have no effect until a copy of the statement of li…

(1) The employer against whose property a lien has been filed under ORS 657.540 may cause the property to be released by filing with the county clerk of the county wherein such lien is recorded a bond or an irrevocable letter of credit in a sum double the amount claimed in said l…

(1) Except in the case of failure without good cause to file a return, fraud or intent to evade any provision of this chapter or authorized rules, every notice of assessment shall be given within four years after the last day of the month following the close of the calendar quart…

Any lien provided for in ORS 657.525 to 657.540 may be released, compromised or satisfied by the Director of the Employment Department, and the property against which a lien is claimed shall be released therefrom by filing a notice of such release or satisfaction with the county …

(1) Remedies given to the Director of the Employment Department under this chapter for the collection of contributions, interest and penalties shall be cumulative and no action taken by the director or the duly authorized representative of the director, the Attorney General, or a…

The Director of the Employment Department may be made a party to any suit or action involving the title to real or personal property against which the director has or may claim a lien under this chapter.

(1) No employer or agent of any employer shall willfully refuse or fail to pay a contribution to the fund or to furnish any report, audit or information duly required by the Director of the Employment Department under this chapter. (2) No employer shall make a deduction from the …

(1) Every employing unit shall make and file a quarterly report of taxes due under this chapter upon a combined quarterly tax report form prescribed by the Department of Revenue. The report shall be filed with the Department of Revenue at the times and in the manner provided by O…

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, when a nonprofit employing unit is found by the Director of the Employment Department to be in default with respect to payment of taxes required by this chapter, the nonprofit employing unit may elect to satisfy the deficie…

There is established an Employment Department. The department shall: (1) Administer the unemployment insurance laws of this state to support Oregonians during periods of unemployment; (2) Provide for the operation of a statewide employment service, including the establishment and…

(1)(a) The Employment Department shall be under the supervision and control of a director appointed by the Governor. (b) The term of office of the Director of the Employment Department is four years, but the director may be removed at any time during a term at the pleasure of the…

The Director of the Employment Department may: (1) For purposes of administration and control, and with the approval of the Governor, organize and reorganize the department in whatever manner the director considers appropriate to carry out the duties, functions and powers of the …

The Director of the Employment Department may: (1) Carry on investigations of the operation of unemployment insurance in Oregon, including related subjects and publish the results thereof. (2) Investigate the operations of the fund, the relation of contribution rates to the risks…

(1) The Director of the Employment Department shall, from time to time, after investigation, reasonable public notice, and a public hearing at which any interested party is afforded an opportunity to be heard, determine or redetermine what amount of reserve reasonably is needed i…

(1) The Director of the Employment Department shall cause to be printed in proper form for distribution the classification, rates, rules, regulations and rules of procedure and furnish the same to any person upon application therefor. The fact that such classifications, rates, ru…

The Director of the Employment Department may act in the director’s own behalf or by any of the duly authorized agents or assistants of the director in the following: (1) To hold sessions at any place within the state. (2) To administer oaths. (3) To issue and serve by the direct…

The circuit court for any county or the judge thereof, on application of the Director of the Employment Department or any of the assistants of the director, shall compel obedience to subpoenas issued and served pursuant to ORS 657.630 and punish disobedience of any such subpoena …

Upon request of the Director of the Employment Department, the Attorney General or, under the direction of the Attorney General, the district attorney of any county, shall institute or prosecute actions or proceedings for the enforcement of this chapter, when such actions or proc…

(1) In any case in which the Director of the Employment Department may bring a civil action for the collection of taxes, interest and penalties under this chapter, the Employment Department may instead: (a) Assess a collection charge of $5 if the sum of the tax, penalty and inter…

In any case in which a judgment is rendered in favor of the Employment Department for amounts due under this chapter, the Director of the Employment Department may issue a warrant to collect the amount of the judgment. [2005 c.336 §2]

In any action, suit or proceeding brought by or against the Director of the Employment Department a certificate attested to by the director or the authorized representative of the director showing the amount of contributions, interest and penalties due from an employing unit shal…

If the original of any record, file, order, proceeding, decision, award or other document on file with the Employment Department is competent and admissible in evidence, a certified copy thereof furnished by the Director of the Employment Department under the seal of the departme…

(1) Subject to the approval of the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, the Director of the Employment Department may acquire by purchase office buildings, make alterations, modifications or additions thereto, and purchase land and construct thereon offic…

(1) Every employing unit shall keep true and accurate records of all persons employed by it and such records of hours worked, wages paid and other statistics as prescribed by the Director of the Employment Department for the administration of this chapter. (2) Such records shall …

(1) If an employer fails to file a quarterly tax report or quarterly report of employees’ wages and hours of work by the 10th day of the second month following the end of the calendar quarter, the Director of the Employment Department, for the first such failure, shall send to th…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) to (5) of this section, all information in the records of the Employment Department pertaining to the administration of the unemployment insurance, employment service and workforce and labor market information programs: (a) Is confidentia…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Wage information” means the amount of wages as reported to the Employment Department by each employer as earned by a particular individual during the period, not to exceed 15 recorded quarters preceding the quarter in which the request for disclo…

(1) Upon motion of the Director of the Employment Department or upon application of an interested employer, the director may reconsider a determination of employer subjectivity, tax rate or tax assessment, irrespective of whether the determination has become final. The director m…

A determination of the Director of the Employment Department or the authorized representative of the director: (1) As to whether an employing unit is an employer subject to this chapter, or (2) That services performed by an individual for an employer liable for reimbursement paym…

(1) If an employer files a report for the purpose of determining the amount of contributions due under this chapter but fails to pay contributions or interest, the Director of the Employment Department or authorized representative may assess the amount of contributions or interes…

(1) As used in this section, “reorganized business entity” means a business entity that, while operating substantially the same business as the employer, has been converted to a different form of business entity from that of the employer or has changed ownership from that of the …

(1) An application for hearing under ORS 657.480, 657.679, 657.681 or 657.682 shall be in writing and shall state that a determination or assessment of the Director of the Employment Department or authorized representative is unjust or incorrect and that the employing unit reques…

Judicial review of decisions under ORS 657.683 shall be as provided for review of orders in contested cases in ORS chapter 183, except that the petition shall be filed within 20 days after the order is final. The Director of the Employment Department may file petition for judicia…

(1) The Employment Appeals Board hereby is created within the Employment Department. (2) The Employment Appeals Board consists of three members who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. Except for pro tempore appointments, appointments of members are su…

The Employment Appeals Board has the power: (1) To hold sessions any place within the state. (2) To administer oaths. (3) To issue and serve, or by any sheriff, subpoenas for the attendance of employers or claimants and the production of papers, contracts, books, accounts, docume…

(1) To assist the Director of the Employment Department in the effective development of policies and programs with respect to unemployment insurance and employment service and in securing to this state the benefits of the Wagner-Peyser Act, and particularly with respect to carryi…

The Director of the Employment Department may also appoint committees, and industrial or other special councils, to perform appropriate services in connection with the development of unemployment insurance and employment service programs who shall serve without compensation. [For…

(1) The Employment Department shall: (a) Update the department’s webpage to encourage volunteering and provide links to state and federal volunteering opportunities. (b) Post the following statement on the webpages of the department and the unemployment insurance division of the …

There is created under the Director of the Employment Department a division, to be known as the Oregon State Employment Service, which shall be affiliated with the United States Employment Service. Such division shall be administered by a person well qualified by technical traini…

(1) The Director of the Employment Department shall establish and maintain such free public employment offices, including such branch or affiliate offices, as may be necessary for the proper administration of this chapter and for participation in Oregon’s workforce development sy…

The State of Oregon hereby accepts the provisions of the Act of Congress approved June 6, 1933, entitled “An act to provide for the establishment of a national employment system and for cooperation with the states in the promotion of such system, and for other purposes.”